


The Shadow of Parnassus

by Gryffie, Kibu



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 08:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4130692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryffie/pseuds/Gryffie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kibu/pseuds/Kibu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of nothing, a new quest has been issued. It will take Will to a place that he'd never thought he'd see and one that Nico and Jason never wanted to see again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Opening Soon! A New Expansion to the Fields of Asphodel

Nico was convinced that midwest America was nothing but a waiting-to-be-opened extension of the Fields of Asphodel.  It was nothing but endless flatland, occasionally pockmarked by animal farms or a one-stoplight town. The freeway stretched out forever in front of him, disappearing into the hazy heat lines on the horizon.

According to the GPS, Nico was on hour twenty-one of his forty-two hour drive from Camp Jupiter to Camp Half-Blood, and it was beginning to wear on him.  Normally, Nico wouldn’t have been driving across the country, but he hadn’t had much choice thanks to a sudden and unexpected gift from his father.  Even if Nico wasn’t your typical eighteen-year-old, there was no way he was going to turn down the gift of a new car.

The trip had already been pretty eventful: going through Nevada, Nico had to outrun a giant boar; stopping for gas in Wyoming, the gas station attendants had all been Cyclopes who had been dumb enough to try and take him on; a couple of hours ago, a group of wild centaurs had tried to run him off the road, but ultimately only managed to run themselves into the drainage ditch of a stockyard.

With his dyslexia, it took a couple of times looking at the sign post at the side of the road for Nico to read that the town of Kearney was coming up in only a few miles. It wasn’t likely to be much of a town, but it seemed like a good enough spot as any to stop.

As expected, Kearney was a blink-and-you’ll miss it city. Just beside the off-ramp was a Best Western and a small Italian restaurant attached to the building.  Nico’s stomach growled as he suddenly realized that food was an amazing idea. His friends still gave him a hard time about eating, and the last thing he needed was them getting on him again for not eating as much as they thought he should. Years ago, during the events of the battle with Gaia, Nico had been kidnapped and forced to eat only pomegranate seeds to stay alive. After he’d been rescued, it had taken lot of coaxing and forcing from his friends to get Nico to start eating regularly and like a normal teenager.

Pulling up in front of the restaurant, Nico stared at the sign until the words un-blurred and the letters arranged themselves correctly: _La Mia’s Family Italian Open 24 hrs_. Nico didn’t expect much from a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but he was hungry enough to give it a try.

It was well past a typical dinner hour, so Nico wasn’t surprised to find the place nearly empty. The only other patron was a ratty-looking kid in a corner booth who looked up sharply when Nico entered. The kid watched him with haunted eyes, half-hidden by stringy black hair and ringed with far too much kohl.

An elderly woman made her way over to the door with a menu. She wore an apron over an old gingham dress and her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck. She looked like someone’s typical Italian grandmother.  “Buonasera young man,” she said with a heavy Italian accent and grabbed a single menu. “By yourself tonight? Or are you waiting for your family to join you?” She asked, glancing over at the Goth kid with a strangely sad expression.

“Just myself, signora,” Nico said and followed her as she guided him to the table across from the kid, who was poking restlessly at a plate of spaghetti.

“Oh, you seem very young to be traveling by yourself. Why, you can’t be more than just a child.” Her eyes were hopeful, like a grandmother wanting a grandchild to spoil.

Nico smiled pleasantly back at her, taking the menu from her hand. “No need to worry, signora; I’m eighteen so I’m not a little kid.”

Her face seemed to fall. “Oh yes, you are an adult aren’t you. Ah well. Mama Mia will still make you something nice. You like Italian?”  Suddenly the smile was back as if nothing had happened.

“Yes, signora; I was born in Italy.”

“Ah, fantastic.” She beamed. “Mama Mia will make you something extra special.”  She headed back to the kitchen with an oddly sashaying walk for such an old woman, leaving Nico and the Goth kid alone in the dining room.

Nico looked over the menu, his stomach complaining that it didn’t matter what he ordered as long as it was food. As he tried to make the floating letters arrange themselves into legible words, Nico could feel eyes boring into him through the laminated paper. When he lowered it slightly, he caught the other kid staring at him before hastily pretending to be absorbed in pushing noodles around the plate.

Mama Mia came back just as Nico put down his menu. “Do you know what you would like?” Nico told her and she wrote down his order, praising his good taste. Before heading back to the kitchen, she stopped by the other kid’s table. “Still no sign of your father, piccola? Does he have a number that we can call?” The kid shook their head and Nico could have sworn that he saw Mia’s eyes flash hungrily as she patted the kid on the shoulder and walked back to the kitchen.

The kid really couldn’t have been more than thirteen. With black hair that hung in their face and relatively shapeless clothes, Nico really couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl, but Mama Mia had addressed them using the feminine form of a word. More than anything, though, Nico noticed how nervous the kid was. Having been on his own for several years, Nico knew what the signs looked like. He was fairly certain that there wasn’t any father coming for them - and he was pretty sure that Mama Mia knew it too.

It didn’t take long for Mia to return with Nico’s order and set it down in front of him with a quick ‘buon appetito’ before she went back to the kid. “Now piccola, I think we both know that your father isn’t coming. Why don’t you come and help Mama in the kitchen and we’ll figure out what we can do with you?” 

“Oh- um,” the kid replied, shrinking back into the corner of the booth. Mama Mia’s gnarled old hand closed around the kid’s wrist. It was clearly a stronger grip than seemed possible for such an elderly woman, given how she didn’t relent even when the kid struggled. “H-Hey! Let go!”

“It’s all right now, piccola, we’ll get you all straightened out.” Mama Mia hauled the Goth kid out of the booth despite great resistance. “After all, how else were you planning to pay for your food? I won’t have you pulling a dine-and-dash on old Mama Mia, now.”

Nico watched with a frown. “I can pay for the food,” he offered as he started to get up. Something about this didn’t seem right at all.

“No, no. That’s very nice of you, young man, but this one needs to learn a lesson,” Mama Mia said. She shoved the kid into the kitchen, closing the door firmly behind them. Something was definitely not right; if Nico had been more alert and aware he might have realized sooner that there was something weird going on.

A scream from the kitchen had Nico on his feet, his sword appearing in his hand. He threw himself against the door of the kitchen but something seemed to be blocking it. There was the sound of things breaking inside and Nico slammed himself against the door again until it finally gave.  The kitchen inside was a mess, pots and pans strewn everywhere and it looked like a bag of flour had exploded. There were footprints all over the floor, along with long, slithering tracks like a giant snake.

Snake. La Mia. Lamia. “Shit,” Nico cursed and ran through the kitchen, looking for the monster and trying to remember what he had learned about it from the books. From what he could remember, Lamia had once been a mistress of Zeus’ who’d been cursed by Hera. She had then eaten her own children in her madness, and would now eat any child she could get her hands on.

Nico followed the tracks to a back door that lead out to the parking lot behind the restaurant. Another scream brought Nico’s attention to a group of dumpsters. He could just see the Lamia’s snake tail disappear around the edge of the dumpster.  Nico ran over to the dumpsters, yelling after them. “Hey! Leave the kid alone, Lamia, or you’ll regret it!”

The Lamia had grown, doubling in size. Her torso was the body of a beautiful young woman that still wore the old gingham dress, but where her legs had been before, now a solid trunk of snake body coiled underneath her. She had the kid pinned between her and the dumpsters and looked ready to strike when Nico ran up.

“Get away from me!” The kid shouted, diving to the side as the snake woman lunged. Lamia banged into the side of the dumpster, giving the kid a split-second opportunity to dash past her. The kid ran to Nico, eyes wide with fear and gasping for breath. “You- you can see it?”

Lamia hissed, turning to face them. “You’ll not steal my dinner, demigod!” Her fingers were twisted like great talons which she used to swipe at Nico. “I _was_ going to just let you go. Old, gamey meat doesn’t always agree with my stomach. But now I’ll just have to eat both of you.”

Nico jumped backwards, pulling the kid along with him. Lamia was faster than Nico expected. Even with experience fighting dracanae, she was on a whole different level.  Nico parried a second strike with his sword and pushed back against her, trying to protect the kid and himself at the same time.

“Yeah, I can see them,” Nico said with a grunt. He flung out his hand to push the kid back further. “You’re not crazy, but you’ll be dead if you don’t stay back!” he snapped, digging into his pocket with his free hand and tossing his keys to the kid. “Get to my car; its right in front. I’ll take care of her.”

“She’ll kill you!” The kid protested, fumbling the keys but managing not to drop them. As if to underscore the idea, Lamia lunged for Nico again.

Lamia swatted Nico’s blade away, her claws biting into his arms as she grabbed him and pulled him tight against her body. “A valiant effort, little demigod, but it’s time to stop playing with our food.”

“No!” The kid shouted, flinging a rock at Lamia instead of running away like Nico had ordered. “Let him go!”

“Get. To. The. CAR!” Nico yelled, his fists clenched and his face screwed up in concentration. The ground beneath them shook and a large crack shot through the ground between Lamia and the kid. As Nico strained against the Lamia’s grip, skeletal warriors in the ragged clothing of American Calvary and local Native American tribes were crawling out of the fissure in the ground, to turn immediately towards the Lamia.

The kid’s eyes widened, fixed on the dead people rising from the earth to come to Nico’s aid. “That is the coolest thing I have ever seen,” they said reverently. A glance at Nico, though, was incentive to finally turn and make a dash for the front parking lot and the only car that waited there.

The fob on the key ring unlocked the doors and the kid dove into the passenger’s seat, yanking the door shut as if it could provide some sort of protection against what was going on outside.

The skeletons stabbed at Lamia, causing her to lose her grip and drop Nico.  He fell on the hard asphalt, his elbow making a loud _crack_ as he landed on it. Pain flared through Nico’s body, but he quickly fled from the battle. The skeletons were no match for Lamia and were quickly falling to her claws.

Nico was in no shape to fight; any movement in his arm caused more pain to shoot through his body. He grimaced as he came to the realization that there was only one choice.  He ran as fast as he could back to the car, holding his injured arm close to his body. Nico just hoped that he had enough energy to get them all the way to their destination.  He got into the car with a pained grunt and turned towards the kid.

“Okay, I’m going to make this fast because we do not have time.”  Nico carefully reached over and closed the door before hitting the button to lock it. “My name is Nico. I’m a demigod: half god, half human, and I’m guessing you’re one, too. I’m going to get us to a safe place but I need you to promise me that you will not open your eyes until I tell you that it’s okay.”

“There’s more than one God?” The kid gave Nico a startled look, but nodded reluctantly. “Okay. But you promise you’ll explain later?” The kid held tight to the seatbelt, eyes squeezed tightly shut and scruffy shoes tapping an anxious rhythm on the car floor.

Nico rolled his eyes but didn’t answer. Glancing out the window, he could see Lamia finishing off the last of skeleton warriors. Time was running out. He made sure the kid’s eyes were closed before reaching out to take hold of their hand. Nico wasn’t entirely sure this would work, and if it didn’t he wanted to make sure at least he and the kid would make it.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Nico concentrated on Camp Half-Blood and pulled them and the car into the shadows.

It wasn’t as bad as transporting a 40 foot statue across the Atlantic, but it was still pretty draining. The car appeared on the edge of the forest and thankfully well away from any campers who might be on patrol. Nico groaned in relief and let go of the kid’s hand. “It’s safe now,” he said, letting out a long breath and punching the horn of the car to let the camp know that they were there before passing out.


	2. Nectar: The Sting Means It's Working

A lot of strange things had happened in the history of Camp Half Blood, but nobody expected the sudden arrival of a car out of thin air. Even though the summer session hadn’t started yet, the year round campers were a credit to their battle training and acted quickly. Will Solace and the other Apollo campers were quick to drag Nico to the infirmary, while a couple of other early-arrival campers helped the new kid get oriented. Jason Grace, one of the few old enough to have a license, volunteered to drive the car down to the garage where the camp vans were stored.

Will had to admit that Nico’s elbow had been tricky to set, but he was rather proud of himself for getting it done before Nico woke up. He sat at the attendant desk, looking up from the medical textbook he was slowly, methodically making his way through. Whenever he had infirmary duty he tried to get through at least one chapter. A glance at the clock and he got up from the desk, walking over to Nico’s bed to check on the deep scratches in Nico’s arms. “What did you run into?” Will muttered to himself, adjusting the loosely-covering bandages to dab at the cuts with a nectar-soaked cotton ball.

Nico’s arm jerked under Will’s hand and he sucked in a breath. “That stings,” Nico said, his voice rasping and croaky. “And it was the Lamia…” He blearily blinked his eyes, wincing in the bright light of the infirmary. 

“I’m sorry that it stings, but it’s necessary.” Will replaced the dressing and moved to help Nico sit up. “You got yourself banged up good out there,” he commented.

Will picked up a small bowl of pudding-consistency ambrosia from the bedside table, offering Nico the bowl and a spoon. "Left hand,” he reminded before Nico could try to move his injured elbow. “You guys got into some trouble out there, didn’t you? Lex is fine, by the way. You did a good job making sure you’re the only one in my infirmary.”

“Lex?” Nico asked, awkwardly using his left hand to carefully spoon the ambrosia into his mouth. “Is that the kid’s name?” He began to relax as the ambrosia did its work, making him feel more alert and awake as the pain ebbed. “Never heard it before we had to get out of there.” 

“Yeah. Last I heard, a couple of Piper’s campers were calming him down and then Jason was gonna show him around once he got back from the garage.” Will glanced up at the clock on the wall again, gauging how long it had been since their arrival. “They’re probably in the middle of that. Wonder if the kid’s been claimed yet.”

Will perched on the edge of Nico’s bed, picking up the bowl from where it rested precariously on Nico’s chest and holding it steady for him. It was just a step off from feeding him, but toed the line without crossing it.

As if Nico could read Will’s mind, he shot him a look of ‘don’t even try it’ as he ate a few more spoonfuls. “Piper’s siblings will be good with calming the kid.” He agreed and leaned all the way back on the bed, pushing away the bowl of ambrosia. His head snapped towards Will as he realized what he’d said. “Wait, you let Grace take my car? After all that I hope it’s in one piece.” 

“He’s got a license,” Will said with a shrug. He deposited the bowl back on the table. “And it’s better than leaving it where Peleus might find it and take offense.” It was unlikely that the young dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece would do anything to Nico’s car, but the chance was always there. “Lamia, huh? And you took it on by yourself? And then you shadow traveled both of you _and_ a car.”

Will’s blue eyes were intense even through the stray lock of blond hair that tried to get in the way. “I don’t think I need to tell you twice that you need to take it easy for a while, right?”

Nico rolled his eyes at Will and frowned. “Really? This is the first time I’ve passed out since Reyna and I brought back the Athena statue. You’re acting like I do this all the time just to annoy you.” 

“No, I know you haven’t passed out since then,” Will said, unperturbed. “You’ve pushed it, though. And I don’t like having people show up in here for things that could be prevented.” He stood up, going back to the desk where his book was lying open. “Get some rest. If you’re healed up enough by tomorrow morning, I’ll let you out of here early.” Will grinned at Nico. “Deal?”

Nico petulantly refused to look at Will until he was settled back down at the desk. “Fine, but you need to turn down the lights in here. It’s too damn bright.” 

“Sure,” Will agreed, turning on the desk lamp before leaning over to hit the switch for the overhead lights. It cut down considerably on the brightness in the room, but still gave Will plenty to read by. The letters on the pages danced and spun, rearranging themselves into new formations that made no sense. He frowned at the book and rubbed his eyes. “Let me know if you need anything, Nico. I’ll be right here.”


	3. Black is the New Pink

Nico couldn’t get out of the infirmary fast enough. He hated being in there: The sterile lighting, white décor, and always having someone hanging around drove him nuts. The only time it was tolerable was when Will was in there - not that Nico was ever going to admit that to anyone. Unfortunately, Will wasn’t on duty the next day when Nico was released. 

Stepping out of the infirmary, Nico took a deep breath of the fresh, dust filled, non-sterile air and relaxed. He looked down at the camp that spread out below the hill and allowed himself to smile. Years ago, Nico wouldn’t have ever thought that this place would have felt like home for a son of Hades. It did now, mostly thanks to a few friends who hadn’t given him a choice but to stay. 

A few Ares campers were walking up the hill with Peleus’s lunch and waved at Nico. “Hey, Di Angelo! Nice car! Did you steal it off some Romans?”

“No, but it’s still better than anything you’ll ever get,” Nico replied and shook his head with a smirk. Ares kids were always looking for an excuse for fight, but Nico wasn’t about to give them one - at least not a good one. 

“They’re just jealous,” Jason said, trotting up from the cabins toward Nico. “It’s a nice car.” He dug into his pocket before tossing the keys to Nico. “Safe and sound with the vans. Not a scratch.”

“Thanks, Grace.” Nico nodded as he caught the keys and shoved them into his pocket. “How much chaos did I cause this time?” he asked, the smirk turning into a grin as he headed down the hill to stand next to Jason. Nico had grown over the summer, but as always Jason was still taller and Nico had to look up at him. 

Jason grinned, the sun glinting off his glasses. “Oh, you know. Not as crazy as an invasion, but still enough to cause a stir in everyone here. The kid you brought with you is something of a celebrity right now. He’s an easier target than you would be even if you hadn’t been in the infirmary.”

Jason Grace was the poster-perfect All-American Boy. Tall, tan, with close-cropped blond hair and blue eyes like a stormy sky. The only thing that marred the perfection was a small scar on his upper lip. He was the type of person that Nico would normally avoid on sight, but Jason was actually one of his good friends.

“Did he get claimed, then?” Nico asked as he started down the hill, expecting Jason to follow him. “Will said his name was Lex.” 

“Not yet,” Jason said with a frown, keeping up easily. “No real clues, either; he lives with his mom, but his dad died just a few years ago and he’s fully convinced they’re both his real parents. He’s staying in the Hermes cabin for now. There’s space since the summer session hasn’t started yet. I bet Percy would be furious if he was here, though. That kid is almost fourteen and still unclaimed.”

It was Percy Jackson who had made the gods promise to claim their children by the age of thirteen. It wasn’t really a surprise that the gods were starting to slip on their promise, but it was frustrating all the same.

As they approached the cabins, the year-round and early arrival summer campers shouted the occasional greeting. The Hades cabin wasn’t in the main U formed by the original twelve cabins, but that suited Nico just fine. It usually meant he could get more peace and quiet. To his surprise, there was someone waiting for them on the steps of the black-and-silver cabin.

“Nico! Are you okay?” Lex ran down to meet them. He seemed significantly happier than the last time Nico had seen him. The dark circles under his eyes were lighter and he actually smiled when he reached Nico and Jason. “They said you were hurt.”

“Uh... hey. Lex, right?” Nico said uncomfortably and glanced over at Jason with an expression that just screamed for help. “Uh, yeah but I’m okay now. The healers here are pretty good.” He spoke slowly, the words a little stilted. Nico was uncomfortable with the kid getting into his face with eager hopefulness. Every nerve in his body said to run into his cabin and lock the door, but he knew that would cause more issues than it would help.

“So are, uh, you all right?” Nico asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” Lex said, not seeming to notice Nico’s discomfort. “Everyone here has been really cool. It’s such a trip! I can’t believe that the old Greek gods are still around… being related to them is mind blowing. I mean… you’re Hades’s son, right? That’s so cool.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call being a demigod ‘cool’,” Jason tempered, picking up on Nico’s discomfort and trying to turn the brunt of Lex’s enthusiasm away. “This camp and Camp Jupiter in California are the only safe places for us. Anywhere else you’ll get attacked by monsters. Haven’t you been dealing with that at all?”

“A little bit,” Lex admitted, suddenly not meeting Nico’s or Jason’s eyes. “Nobody else saw them. My mom…” he trailed off, cheeks reddening. “A-Anyway. I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t like people getting hurt because of me.”

Nico let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and nodded. “None of us do, Lex. But that’s why we are all here. It’s safe for us; the monsters can’t get in here and we learn how to fight them,” he explained, feeling a little sorry for the kid. He glanced at Jason, understanding that all of them had parental issues. “Whoever your godly parent is, they should be claiming you soon and then you can be in a cabin with your brothers and sisters.” 

“That’s the thing, though,” Lex said, fidgeting. “I don’t have a godly parent. My dad died a few years ago and my mom is still around.” Nico picked up a strong, unspoken sense that Lex left off the word ‘unfortunately’.

A sudden pink glow surrounded Lex, bright even in the sunlight. His choppy emo-singer hair smoothed out, the bad dye job evening into something that looked far more natural. The kohl eyeliner softened and became more of a highlight for his dark brown eyes and less like a raccoon mask. He looked up in shock, cowering under the glowing pink dove that spun over his head.

“You’re right,” Jason said, his mouth twitching as he suppressed a smile. “Your mom is definitely still around.”

Nico raised his eyebrows and nodded. “All hail Lex, son of Aphrodite,” Nico smirked, crossing his arms and imitating Chiron. “Looking good, kid.” He looked over at Jason. “You’re more familiar with the kids in the Aphrodite cabin. Do you mind taking Lex over?” 

“Yeah, I can.” Jason put a hand on Lex’s shoulder and steered him toward the main row of cabins. “See ya later, Nico.”

Nico nodded and waved. He was glad that Lex got claimed; he was also glad that it wasn’t in front of everyone. The poor kid seemed pretty shy and probably wouldn’t have handled being claimed at the campfire very well. Taking a deep breath and shoving his hands into his pockets, Nico finally walked into his cabin. It was just as he’d left it a few weeks before. It was darker inside than any other cabins, but he’d gotten rid of a couple of the coffin-like beds. Instead, he had traded favors with a few Hephaestus kids for a nice king size bed that was hidden away in the back corner for himself, and a queen size in the opposite corner for when Hazel visited. 

In Nico’s corner, he had plastered the walls with posters of his favorite bands and movies that he’d gotten over the past few years. There was a night stand next to the bed with a single lamp and a pile of papers; mostly letters from his friends who weren’t at Camp Half-Blood anymore. He sighed happily, falling back onto his bed and staring up at the blank ceiling. He really needed to do something with that ceiling sometime. 

Nico had left the door open; a universal sign of ‘visitors welcome’. The light tap of a knock on the doorjamb made Nico sit up reluctantly. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see Will Solace.

“I see Katie let you out early?” Will said, not waiting for an invitation before walking inside. “You look like you’re doing much better.”

Nico leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows. “Yeah, she probably got sick of my complaining. Besides, you know I barely tolerate that place.” It always surprised Nico that Will had honestly become one of his closest friends since he had settled down in camp. It was thanks to Will and Jason that Nico had, in his eyes, really become welcome in the place. Still, there was always a tension Nico felt with Will that he could never really place, like a little jolt of static electricity that he felt when they touched. It was something akin to how he felt with Percy years ago, but it was different. It bothered Nico that he couldn’t figure it out. 

“Did you need something?” Nico asked as he moved to sit on the edge of his bed. 

“Just checking in,” Will said, running a hand through his hair in a sheepish gesture. “I’m running an archery class in a few minutes. Do you feel up to joining us or do you just want to get some quiet time?” He flashed Nico a grin that caused another of those electric tingles to run down Nico’s spine. “I hear you have something of an admirer.”

“What? Not hardly,” Nico scoffed and blushed. “That kid, I mean, he hardly knows me. After a while he’ll get over it.” The word ‘hopefully’ wasn’t said, but he implied it heavily. “He’s a son of Aphrodite by the way. She claimed him just now when Jason and I ran into him. It seemed kind of strange that she didn’t claim him in front of everyone; it doesn’t seem her style.”

“That is a little unusual for Aphrodite,” Will agreed. “Maybe she’s embarrassed to have a Goth kid. So how about it? Are you feeling up to some archery?” He pulled his bow from over his shoulder, wiggling it in a way he clearly thought was inviting.

Nico chuckled despite himself; Will just looked too ridiculous waving his bow like that. “I just got released from the infirmary and you want me to do archery? You, of all people?” he said with a bashful smile.

Will shrugged, shouldering the bow again. “Hey, I may not be the best archer in camp, but you just can’t beat my enthusiasm. Besides, if you can hold yourself up like that then I think your elbow’s up to some light exercise.”

Damn. He’d been caught. Nico cringed and moved to get off the bed. “All right, but if anyone laughs at my shooting I’m sending Mrs. O’Leary after them to lick them to death.”


	4. Never Bet Against Aphrodite

There weren’t many places around Camp where two people could be alone. It wasn’t that their conversation was about anything in particular, but Will enjoyed just having Nico to himself for a little while now and again.

The Apollo cabin was a no-go, campers coming and going at all times. The Hades cabin, even if only Nico lived there, had stopped being a haven ever since Lex’s arrival three days before. The child of Aphrodite’s interest in Nico bordered on hero-worship, much to the amusement of his brothers and sisters and much to Nico’s obvious discomfort.

It was due to Lex’s persistence that Will found himself tramping through the forest alongside Nico. “I’m sure he’ll give up and move on eventually,” Will said. He swatted aside a low-hanging branch with his bow to let them pass. “He’s just a kid; and you are pretty cool.”

Will turned to look over his shoulder at Nico, just in time to see the son of Hades wrinkle his nose.

“If by cool, you mean always kind of cold; then yes, you’re right.” Nico said and snorted. “Otherwise, you’re just being delusional as always.” He quickened his pace to get ahead, but Will was sure he saw a blush spreading across Nico’s cheeks.

Nico pointed toward the small hill in front of them, carefully not looking back at Will. “Let’s go up there. We’ll have a better view of the forest and we can strategize for the next capture the flag game.” 

“Sure,” Will agreed. He let Nico lead the way, the two of them getting to the top of the hill and looking over the edge of a steep drop-off. It was about ten feet to the ground below, a patch of poison ivy flourishing in the shadow beneath. It was high enough to give them a clear view of most of the surrounding area all the way down to the river in the distance.

“So, can my cabin count on your help again this time around?” Will asked, sitting down on the edge and setting his bow beside him. “We make a good team.”

“I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to play with you than against you, Solace,” Nico said gruffly as he moved to sit on the ridge next to Will and dangled his legs over the edge. He rubbed his nose and looked down at the forest below them. “This would probably be a good position for archers.”

“It would be better if we had some cover, but it’s not too bad,” Will said. Strategizing for capture the flag was a good excuse if someone questioned them being out together alone, but it wasn’t what Will really wanted to talk about.

“So how’re you doing?” Will asked, brushing his fingers over the back of Nico’s hand. All it took was a touch for Will to get a sense of how anchored Nico was in the real world. “You’ve been resting since you got back?”

It was true that Will was committed to keeping Nico in good health, but it was also an excellent opportunity just to touch him. Nico had made it very clear that he didn’t like to be touched, and Will tried to respect that as much as possible. Still, having an unrequited crush on someone like Nico di Angelo was a hard position to be in.

Nico jumped liked he’d been shocked and pulled his hand away, scratching at the spot Will had touched. “I’m fine,” he said, sounding annoyed. “I followed doctor’s orders and I’m not going to fade away.”

A moment later, Nico hung his head bashfully and put his hand back down close to Will’s, their little fingers just barely touching. “Thanks for looking out for me,” he said quietly.

“Someone needs to,” Will pointed out. “I’m not about to lose my friend just because he pushes himself too hard.” He curled his pinky finger around Nico’s; it was a tiny gesture, and one that Will didn’t realize he was doing until it had already been done.

Not wanting to lose Nico as a friend was something that kept Will up at night sometimes. It was one of the things that made crushing on the son of Hades a slow form of torture. Will constantly felt the pressure that if he made a wrong move or said the wrong thing, there was a very real chance that Nico would never speak to him again. Will kept talking as if nothing had happened; moving away now would only highlight what he had done. “You’re getting better about knowing your limits. Amazing what a couple of years will do, huh?”

Amazingly, Nico didn’t immediately pull away. He stared down at their hands intently, his expression going from startled to confused. Will found himself holding his breath, but couldn’t convince himself to breathe again until Nico pulled his hand back and shook his head as if coming out of a daze. “Huh? Oh… yeah. Maybe I won’t need a doctor after a while,” Nico said, looking surprised at the sadness in his voice.

Will wasn’t sure if he was imagining that sadness; maybe he was hearing what he wished was there. Breathing was still difficult, but now because it felt like his heart was lodged in his throat. “Oh. I mean, that’s good. It means you really are learning your limits.” Will winced suddenly, ducking his head as a shaft of sunlight peaked through the branches of the surrounding trees and shined straight into his eyes.

“Maybe you don’t need a doctor anymore, but what about a friend?” Will continued, rubbing his eyes and chancing a glance at Nico. “This might be our last year together. I’m not ready to end it yet.”

Nico snorted. “You make it sound like once we leave camp we disappear,” He smiled wanly, his face warring between different expressions; sad, scared, nervous. Nico glanced up at Will and gave him a genuine smile as Will moved out of the sun. “But I’m not ready either,” he admitted, leaning in closer. 

The distance was short, closed in the fraction of a second between one breath and the next. It was done without thinking; something that Will had played over so many times in his head that the reaction came to him immediately. He kissed Nico.

There was a moment where it was everything he had daydreamed about. Birds sang; he could smell flowers on the breeze and warmth filled him. Will was yanked back to reality before he had a chance to really process what had happened.

"Finally!"

Will scrambled to his feet and turned as he drew his bow, aiming at the source of the voice. Apollo, Will’s father, appeared out of a beam of sunlight and raised his eyebrows over his stylish sunglasses. Will lowered his weapon, certain that he was blushing as red as Nico seemed to be. "Dad. What are you doing here?"

Nico swore under his breath. He was glaring at the sun god, blushing so hard that his face looked sunburned. He had jumped to his feet with his sword in hand, the wicked Stygian iron blade seeming to absorb the light around it. Apollo offered a grin, but no apology for the interruption.

“Really, though. Four years!” Apollo let his sunglasses slip down on his nose, peering over the dark lenses. “It’s about time you stopped dancing around the subject.” With the same golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes as his son, the god of music could have been just another camper; he looked only about eighteen years old at most.

Will cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh, so is my personal life the reason why you’re…” he stopped himself, picking out the right words rather than charging ahead. “Why you’ve chosen to grace us with your presence?” He heard Nico mutter something significantly less flattering under his breath, but thankfully Apollo didn’t seem to notice.

“Ah, yes, about that.” Apollo pushed his sunglasses back up, the expression on his shadowed face betraying his sudden discomfort. “Technically I’m not supposed to be here.” He leaned over and mock whispered, “Grounded still.” The seriousness was brief; the smile quickly reappeared on his face and he rested his hands on his hips. “But I couldn’t miss this golden opportunity.”

Apollo paused for a moment and laughed at his own joke. “Oh man, that was good. But I can’t stay long. I will be missed by my adoring fans back home.” 

It was a small relief at least to have it confirmed that the gods were not just interested in Will’s and Nico’s love life, but that didn’t explain why Apollo was there. Will stared at his father until Apollo sobered and sighed heavily. 

“I’m sure you know the harrowing tale of my battle with the great serpent Python at Mount Parnassus?” Apollo didn’t give them a chance to acknowledge if they did, plowing ahead and completely missing the confused look Nico gave Will. “So in that big battle a few years back with Gaia, Python might have taken back Mount Parnassus while we gods were having some difficulties finding ourselves,” Apollo said, waving his hands for emphasis. 

None of this information was really new to Will. It was pretty common knowledge at this point that Python had retaken the cave of the Oracle at Parnassus, blocking the voice of the Oracle and rendering Rachel Dare essentially powerless. It also sounded like a good reason for why Apollo was ‘grounded’. 

“What does that have to do with us?” Nico asked flatly, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“Ah, little cousin. Straight to the point, just like your father,” Apollo said, giving Nico a patronizing smile. “Why you couldn’t have been this straight to the point two years ago when my spot on the betting pool was up, I’ll never know. You lost me five hundred sacred cattle,” he grumbled, thrusting a finger directly in front of Nico’s face.

“Uh… What?” Nico asked, taking a wary step back from Apollo. Will grabbed Nico’s arm, all too aware of the steep drop directly behind them.

“Sacred cattle,” Apollo said, tilting his head as he eyed Nico. “You know; big, red, belong to me. But that’s beside the point. Back to Python.” He fixed his attention back on Will, who tensed noticeably. “I need you to get rid of it.”

“You need me to kill a giant snake,” Will said, trying to grasp the situation and having a hard time making sense of it. “Me?” He gave Apollo his best ‘you must be joking’ face.

“Of course!” Apollo shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, rocking back on his heels. “It’s not a prophecy – it can’t be, that’s why it needs to be done in the first place. I could give you a quest haiku.”

Nico groaned. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.” 

Apollo cleared his throat dramatically, arms akimbo. Before he could start reciting whatever had come to mind, Will quickly cut him off. It was a risky move, interrupting a god, but he ploughed ahead anyway.

"I thought it was too dangerous to go all the way to Greece," Will said, scratching the side of his head as he tried to remember the discussions from several years before. Before Percy Jackson and the rest of the seven demigods that made up the Great Prophecy had sailed off on the Argo II, there had been all kinds of warnings about how the ancient lands were terrifically dangerous for demigods.

Apollo's mouth twisted in a pout at being interrupted. "Technically, yes," he said. "But if you take someone who's been there before I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, this is worth the risk."

The brightness of the morning seemed to fade, like a cloud had covered the sun. Apollo jerked suddenly, face pale despite his perfect tan. "Looks like that's all the time we've got, kids."

"Wait!" Will protested, taking a step toward his father. "We haven't even agreed to do this!"

"You like being together, don't you?" Apollo replied, sounding harassed. “You know, Aphrodite won the betting pool with you two. She has this thing for tragic romances. If you want her interest to stay with just betting, it's really in your best interests to do me a solid here." He looked up at the sky, where clouds gathered in earnest and thunder growled nearby. 

Nico glared at Apollo and crossed his arms. He opened his mouth to say something, but must have thought better of it. He turned to Will, giving Apollo a cold shoulder. “I don’t think there is really much of a choice here,” he said angrily. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Will said. “So we’ve got long-term misery on one side, and almost certain death on the other.” He looked down at the bow in his hand, tightening his fingers around the worn leather grip. “I guess I’m going snake hunting.”

“That’s my boy!” Apollo exclaimed cheerfully. Thunder rumbled through the darkening clouds overhead, making Apollo duck his head. “Oh- did I mention you have until the summer solstice?”

Before they could question him further, or even try to protest, Apollo began to radiate light. Will grabbed Nico and spun him around, shielding both of them from the brilliance of the god’s true form. The storm overhead snarled before beginning to abate, Zeus’s attention drawn away again.

Nico turned back around, glaring daggers at the sky. It was easy to tell that Nico was furious, but it was difficult to tell where that fury was directed. He growled and squeezed his hands into fists, the ground beginning to shake under their feet. 

“Hey, hey,” Will said anxiously, covering one of Nico’s clenched hands with his own in an attempt to calm him. “Careful. We don’t really need an undead army right now, you know?”

Will was more nervous than angry, though he had to admit that Nico’s rage was justified. He knew that the quest they’d just been given was something that he couldn’t get out of, and the idea of leading a quest was intimidating. And it was not just a quest; it was a quest into one of the most dangerous places in the world.

“I don’t think you have to go if you don’t want to,” Will said, trying to feign casual. “I’m the only one who has to.”

That seemed to snap Nico out of it. The ground instantly stopped rumbling and his head shot up, his eyes wide with fright and hurt. He pulled his hand back from Will. “Why would you say that? Do you not want me to go?”

“What?” Will asked, baffled. “No, not at all. I mean. I do want you to go. There’s nobody else I’d rather have at my side, but…” He hesitated. “It’s going to be dangerous. I can’t ask anyone to get involved in that if they don’t want to. Not when there’s that kind of risk.”

Nico frowned, clearly unconvinced as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well either way we’re going to have to talk to Chiron and Mr. D about it. It’s ultimately their decision to let us go.” Nico looked troubled about the whole thing, but he wasn’t volunteering any reason why. 

“Yeah,” Will agreed. “Maybe they’ll have more information, too.” It was doubtful, but the hope was still there.


	5. Unexpected Love Songs Make For Awkward Car Rides

It only took a couple of days for camp to settle back down after Nico's and Lex's dramatic entrance. If anyone had noticed Jason's general tension during the hubbub, they hadn't mentioned it within his earshot. He had been counting down the days until the fourth of June, leaving him with a restless energy that made it difficult to concentrate or even sleep properly. 

The morning of June fourth, Jason was up before the sun. He ran a lap around the camp, made a quick pit stop back at his cabin to clean up, and was one of the first campers in the dining pavilion. Most of the Apollo cabin joined him within the first few minutes; some of them were actual morning people, but there were several who faced the early hour with grudging resignation and a deep need for coffee.

Will Solace had confided in Jason once that cabin seven had been designed in a truly diabolical fashion. As soon as the sun rose, it struck the windows in a way that made the interior too bright to continue sleeping. Unless you were willing to suffocate yourself with a pillow, it was almost impossible to sleep past dawn. Jason wasn't one to lie in bed too long in the morning, but he was still glad that he didn't have to deal with something like that.

While the Apollo kids were expected to be around early, Jason was surprised to not see Will with them. He didn’t think that it was Will’s day for working the infirmary again. 

“Hey, Katie,” Jason said to one of the Apollo campers as she passed by him. “Where’s Will?” 

Katie stopped and shook her head, a small, knowing smile on her face. “He and Nico left really early this morning. Something about scouting out the woods for the next capture the flag game.” She paused, looking over Jason’s shoulder. “But it looks like they’re back if you needed him for something.” 

“Thanks, Katie,” Jason said and turned to look toward the forest. Nico had never been much of a morning person at the best of times, but even now he looked like he'd been sleeping as badly as Jason had for the past few days. Nico and Will were in the middle of a whispered conversation, but Will caught Jason's eye and nodded a greeting.

Jason left his table, heading down to meet the two of them halfway. “Hey. What were you two up to this early in the morning?” He knew something was up when neither of them would meet his eye and a fierce blush spread across Nico’s cheeks. “Did something happen?” 

“I ran into my dad,” Will said, offering Jason an embarrassed smile. “We need to get up to the Big House and catch Chiron and Mr. D before activities for the day.” 

“I’ll fill him in, Will,” Nico said quietly. He motioned towards the Big House with his head. “You should get going. It was something your dad wants you to do after all.” 

Will nodded, giving Nico one last reluctant look before running off towards the house on the hill. Jason noticed Nico watching him go with a strange, almost pained expression. Jason crossed his arms, studying Nico for a moment before giving into curiosity. “Okay, what’s wrong?” 

“Apollo showed up while we were scouting the woods,” Nico said distractedly, still staring in the direction where Will disappeared. “He wants Will to-“ Nico suddenly stopped at the sound of chatter and giggles coming from the direction of the cabins. Nico cursed and dragged Jason behind a tree with him just in time for the Aphrodite campers to walk by, with Lex trailing behind and obviously on the lookout.

Jason winced slightly. He knew that Nico had been having difficulty adjusting to suddenly being someone's idol, but he'd been so preoccupied by his own thoughts during the past few days that he hadn't realized it was that much of a problem. "Is the hero worship really that bad?"

Nico grimaced and toed at the ground. “It’s not something I’m used to,” he said with a frown, his eyes watchful over their shoulders towards the cabins. He definitely looked more tired than normal and the shadows under his eyes seemed a little bit darker. “It’ll die down once he settles in and makes more friends.” He sounded hopeful but defeated at the same time, like that had been a mantra he kept telling himself to keep from doing something drastic. 

“I’m sure that it will get better,” Jason said, reaching out to pat Nico’s shoulder but pulling his hand back quickly when Nico glared at him. “Sorry. So you were saying something about Apollo? What happened in the forest?” 

Nico’s face turned red and he looked like a deer in headlights. “Oh, uh, Apollo showed up and told Will that he wants him to go on a quest.” Nico explained with a frown, glancing up towards the house and then back at Jason. “He wants him to slay Python and restore the power of prophesy at Delphi.”

Jason let out a breath, taking the time to gather his thoughts. “He wants Will to go to Greece?” he asked, making sure he properly understood what Nico had said. “In order to go kill a monster that Apollo himself had a hard time getting rid of the first time around?”

“Basically. And it has to be done before the Solstice, because there always has to be some kind of deadline on these kinds of quests.” Nico ran a hand through his hair, tousling it thoroughly, and threw another glance toward the Big House.

“Of course,” Jason said. “Do you wanna go up there? You were there; maybe he could use a hand telling them the whole story.”

Nico quickly shook his head, the blush returning to his cheeks. “No, there really isn’t anything that I can add to Will’s story that would help right now.” He rubbed at his neck awkwardly and glanced around. “I think I just need to go hide or… something.”

"Well, Piper's plane is coming in today," Jason said, trying to play it casual and not act like he'd been looking forward to her arrival as much as he really had been. "Argus promised to let me come along when he leaves for the airport this morning. You could come along with us. It would get you out of camp for a little while and I'm sure she'd be excited to see you."

Nico’s expression didn’t change much, just turning slightly thoughtful as he seemed to weigh the options in his head. “I dunno, Jason. You probably want some alone time with Piper… and, uh, Argus.”

"We'd be happy to have you along," Jason insisted with a quick shake of his head. “And if Will doesn’t need you right now, then it would get you away from your stalker for a little while. But if you don’t want to, that’s fine.” He had intended to get a full breakfast, but talking about Piper's return made everything about it even more real and spawned a new flock of butterflies in his stomach. Food was no longer an option. "I'm gonna go check in with Argus. See you later?" 

“Jason, wait!” Nico sighed. “You’re right,” he repeated, nervously glancing over at the cabins and putting Jason between himself and them. “If it’s still cool, I’ll go with you. Styx, I will even drive you in my car.” 

Jason turned enough to glance over his shoulder, quickly registering the reason for Nico's sudden change of heart. "Yeah, of course." He grinned, jerking his head in the direction of the garages. "Let's go talk to Argus, then."

***

It wasn’t long before Nico and Jason were off the dirt road that led to camp and turning onto Highway 27 towards Montauk. Nico’s car was comfortable. It was all black as to be expected, and seemed to be fully decked out in the latest everything from what Jason could tell. There was a GPS screen; MP3 player; blue tooth connector; the works. Honestly, in the hands of a demigod, it seemed like such an electronically-equipped car would be like a massive beacon to any monsters nearby.

The dangerous possibilities didn’t seem to bother Nico, though. He handled the car like he’d been driving it for years. “So the Montauk airport, right?” he asked as he switched lanes. 

"Yeah," Jason said, keeping his hands well away from the dauntingly lit-up dashboard and the technology it housed. Nico might be comfortable with all the gadgets, but the last thing Jason wanted was to send up a 'free lunch!' signal to anything that might be interested in a son of Zeus. "The last I heard from her, her jet was scheduled to be landing at 8:30."

Even someone who knew as little about cars as Jason did had to admit that Nico had a pretty sweet ride. It was also completely unexpected for someone like Nico to even have a car. "So I meant to ask and then things came up and I forgot: Where did you get this car, anyway?"

“Uh,” Nico said, looking over the console sheepishly. Jason could tell that Nico liked the car more than he wanted to let on. “My father, actually. Hazel somehow convinced him that he owed me for something and so… car.” He shrugged while keeping both hands on the wheel. “It’s honestly a lot, but…” He trailed off, smiling slightly. “As Percy said, I’d be pretty stupid to turn down a free car.” 

Nico pushed a button on the console to activate the GPS. “Montauk Airport,” he told it. As it quickly calculated the route, small advertisements appeared along the bottom for Olympus television programs and several Olympus-only businesses. “We’re pretty sure that all the electronics and stuff are Hephaestus-made. It’s all Imperial gold and Celestial bronze.”

"So you can use all those gadgets without calling every monster on the Eastern seaboard to your location?" Jason asked, impressed. "That's amazing - and really useful. Percy must have been jealous." He paused, running his hand over the dashboard and glancing at Nico out of the corners of his eyes. "And I bet Will will be really glad for you to have a vehicle for going cross-country instead of relying on shadow travel."

“Will can get over it,” Nico said, frowning despite the way his cheeks flushed. “Diving cross country is honestly not my ideal way of traveling. Shadow travel is faster and honestly less tiring. It’s like a forty-two hour drive from here to Camp Jupiter.” The GPS indicator flashed instructions that they needed to stay in their lane for several more miles, which Jason thought was pretty obvious considering there wasn't much around them. 

“And yeah, Percy was pretty jealous, Annabeth too,” Nico laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think there were many people in New Rome who didn’t like it.” He took a deep breath and leaned back into his seat, his expression sobering as he glanced around the car. 

“Honestly though,” he said more quietly. “It makes me nervous. A gift this… extravagant doesn’t bode well to me. I know my father is a little more... well, he’s different than the rest of his family in regards to their kids. But I don’t know; it still seems strange.” 

"I don't think Hades would give you something with the intent of getting you killed or anything like that," Jason pointed out. "And with you going back and forth between the camps so often, having a comfortable vehicle with all the bells and whistles is like having a specialized tool. It's like getting a new weapon, just in a different context." He shrugged, playing with the radio dials to see if they could pick up anything interesting.

"Plus, you said Hazel talked him into it," Jason added thoughtfully, changing from talk radio to a music station. "Maybe it's a joint favor to you and her at the same time."

“Maybe,” Nico agreed, but he didn’t sound completely convinced. “Nothing like getting a ‘sorry I’m a dick parent’ gift.” He glanced at Jason as he played with the radio. “Looking for something particular?”

"Nah," Jason replied with a grin. "Any requests?"

“Yeah, plug this in,” Nico said as he pushed a button on the console. He pulled a small black MP3 player out of the middle console and connected it to the auxiliary port before handing it to Jason. “There’s nothing bad on here,” he said.

When Jason hit play, a peppy, pop love song started up on the stereo. Nico swerved suddenly, careening into the other lane before he got the vehicle back under control. “Except for that one!” He yelled, reaching for the controls to change the song. 

Thankfully there were no other cars on the road around them. Once Nico was back in control, Jason loosened his sudden death-grip on the armrest. “What was that?” he asked, fighting against the surge of adrenaline that the sudden little detour had released into his system.

“A joke from Will,” Nico said flatly, his entire face flushed red. “The player was a gift from him and he put music on it - including that one - and I don’t know how to get it off.” Nico changed the song and dropped the MP3 player into its built-in cradle on the dash as they continued down the road. “It’s this really… upbeat love song that’s really not the kind of thing I listen too. I usually just skip it when it comes up.” It was easy to tell that he was embarrassed.

“Will Solace put a love song on a music player that he then gave to you as a gift?” Jason’s eyebrows shot up to his hair line. Even though Nico was clearly uncomfortable, he couldn’t help asking about it. He was still trying to make it make sense. “It’s not really my business, but are you guys secretly dating or something?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jason blushed. “You don’t have to answer that. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, you don’t understand,” Nico said quickly. “It really is a joke. I spent Christmas with his family and there was some internet video with this song that his little siblings watched the first night I was there, and then they played it nonstop the whole time afterward. It got really obnoxious.” His face and neck were completely red, as if Nico was slowly boiling from the inside. “Will and I are just friends. Like you and I are.” 

“Okay,” Jason said. He wasn’t quite sure that was all there was to it, but he didn’t push it further. It was already going to be an uncomfortable drive. There was no sense in making either of them even more embarrassed.

They fell into awkward silence, just letting the other music on Nico’s playlist fill the space. The rest of the playlist seemed to be filled with an eclectic mix of heavy metal, punk rock, swing music, and random big band songs - many of which were in Italian. The strange mix continued on for the rest of the drive. Whenever that pop song came up, Nico would change it but refused to say anything further on the subject. 

The airport slowly came into view from along the road; it thankfully had been a fairly short drive. A private jet had just landed and was starting to taxi toward the terminal. “Who wants to bet that’s her,” Nico said as he pulled up in front of the terminal. “I’ll wait here if you want to go get her.”

"Sure," Jason said, grabbing the opportunity with both hands. The tension had started to ease up, but letting Nico have a few minutes to himself would probably help it dissipate the rest of the way. "I'll be back."

He let himself out of the car, jogging to the break in the fence that led out onto the tarmac. While the plane coasted to a stop and the crew worked to get everything secured to let the passengers off, Jason's nerves jangled with wild anticipation. He had been waiting for months to see Piper and the final minutes felt like a torturous eternity.

Finally the door opened and Jason saw her. Piper saw him at the same time, her feet not even seeming to touch the steps as she careened straight down into his arms. "Jason!"

"Oof!" Jason had braced himself for it, but she still knocked some of the wind out of him. "Hey, Pipes. Long time no see."

“You too, Sparky,” she said with an impish grin before leaning up to kiss him. Jason had grown and Piper’s feet barely touched the ground as he held her. He let her go when the attendant brought over her bags.

“We hope you have a pleasant summer, Ms. McLean. Please let us know if we can be of service again,” the flight attendant said with a smile before walking off. 

“I’m surprised to see you here! I thought Argus was coming to pick me up,” Piper said, grabbing her duffel in one hand and the handle of her rolling suitcase in the other. 

Jason took the duffel bag from Piper, putting his other arm around her shoulder and steering her toward the parking area. "We gave Argus a break," he explained as they crossed the tarmac. "Nico was nice enough to give me a lift."

The airport was really more of a glorified strip of flat, paved land with a chain-link fence around it, making the walk to the car a remarkably short distance. Jason paused at the break in the fence, leaning down to steal a kiss before they no longer had the illusion of privacy. "It's so good to see you."

“I guess I should have waited in the car longer,” Nico said, walking up to them with an awkward smile. “Hi, Piper. Welcome back.” 

Piper let go of Jason, giving him a quick look of ‘we’ll finish this later’, and turned to Nico. “Hey, Nico! It's good to see you. I'm surprised Chiron let you guys take one of the vans out without bringing Argus along.” 

“Well... not exactly,” Nico said and chuckled as he pointed to his car. “You could say I got a really late birthday present.” He eyed the luggage Jason and Piper carried. “If you’ve got everything, let’s go.”

"These are nothing; you guys go ahead and get in. Pipes, you go ahead and take shotgun." Jason took the other bag from Piper and loaded the luggage into the trunk. He joined them a minute later, sliding into the backseat and buckling in. "All set."

Piper slid into the front seat, the sight of the fancy car dash making her eyes go wide with surprise. “This is a nice car Nico. Where did you get it?” she asked, running her hand over the leather-covered seats.

“My dad,” Nico said as he started the car and headed out of the parking lot. It didn’t sound like he was really in the mood for talking, which was made fully evident when he turned the music player back on and started blasting music. 

Piper gave Jason quizzical look and turned back at Nico, studying him for a moment before turning the volume down to a more mortal level. “Nuh-uh, you’re not allowed to turn into the Uber Emo Teen of the Underworld. It’s us Nico - we’re your friends. You don’t have to hide things.”

Nico glanced at Piper dubiously as he pointed the car back down the road toward camp. “I’m not,” he protested sullenly with an awkward shrug.

“Apollo showed up with a quest for Will this morning,” Jason explained. “Nico’s worried.” He caught the glare Nico directed at him in the rear-view mirror and held his hands up helplessly. “What? She’s a counselor too and she should know what’s going on.”

“And I would have found out sooner or later,” Piper pointed out and settled more into her seat. “So Will’s dad showed up? Isn’t he supposed to be grounded?” She asked looking between the two of them. “That’s at least the impression I got when we were all at Olympus, or well, when Jason and I were there.” 

“It’s probably why he seemed like he was in such a hurry,” Nico replied, keeping his eyes pointedly on the road. “And of course I’m worried. He told Will he has to go to the Old World. Gods, we know how suicidal it was for us and he’s not really a fighter… I mean-“ Nico trailed off and huffed, shutting his mouth.

“No, you were right the first time,” Jason agreed. “Will’s a healer, not a fighter. He’s gonna need all the help he can get.” He rubbed a hand over his face, his excitement at seeing Piper again wilting under the pressure of what was looming over his friends. “Maybe they’ll be done meeting by the time we get back.”

“Yeah,” Nico scoffed. “And maybe Mrs. O’Leary will stop smelling like brimstone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Thanks for sticking with us while we've been working on other projects too :)


	6. Questing is Srs Bsns

Will was no stranger to the Big House, but with Apollo’s quest looming over his head, everything felt different. He passed Mr. D’s and Chiron’s suspiciously empty card table on the wide porch, but he could hear raised voices just beyond the closed front door. When Will opened the door and stepped inside, it was with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he found Mr. D and Chiron arguing in the front room.

“All I am saying is that if we could offer the same advantages as New Rome it would strengthen the fortifications of the camp; take some of the everyday pressure of running things off of you and-“ Chiron was saying. He was in his magical wheelchair, giving him the appearance of an ordinary man instead of the centaur that he really was.

“No.” Mr. D - the camp director, but also the god Dionysus - cut Chiron off abruptly. “Do you know what kind of approval process that would have to go through? Are you insane? And you!” He said, suddenly turning to Will and waggling a finger at him. “You and that Nemo kid couldn’t wait three more days!” He glowered at Will for a moment before looking away and summoning a can of Diet Coke. 

“Ah, Will,” Chiron said, turning to Will as the first conversation came to an awkward, screeching halt. “Is there something that you need?”

"Yeah," Will said uncomfortably. "Am I interrupting something important?"

"It's already interrupted," Mr. D grunted, his face a blotchy, angry red. "What do you need, Sanders? You already cost me dear in the betting pool today."

Will didn't try to correct his name; with Mr. D, it just wasn't worth the effort. "I just saw my father, sir," he said instead. Chiron and Mr. D exchanged a glance as Will continued. "He, uh, personally issued a Quest."

"There have been no quests since the battle with Gaea," Chiron said, rubbing his chin and watching Will closely. "The Oracle has been silent, its power cut off by the great Python."

"Yeah, exactly," Will said. "And that's what he wants us - well, me - to do. Kill Python."

Neither Chiron nor Mr. D spoke. Will rocked back on his heels, the oppressive silence making him feel even more fidgety than could normally be contributed to the ADHD demigods dealt with on a regular basis. "So, uh, yeah. I'm supposed to kill Python and restore the Oracle - oh, and I have to do it before the solstice."

"Apollo came here to tell you this himself?" Mr. D asked with a glint in his eyes. "I bet that raised some ire, considering he's still grounded. He's in worse trouble than I ever--" he broke off, a grin splitting his face. "Chiron, I'm sure you can make sure that Swanson here is taken care of. Get him his team and all that. I need to speak with someone about your proposal." Mr. D vanished with a pop and the smell of warm grapes, leaving Will and Chiron alone in the house.

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose, his annoyance plain though he said nothing about Mr. D's sudden departure. "As the leader of this quest, it's your choice who accompanies you. Did you have anyone in mind?"

"Nico was with me and he said he'll come. Other than that..." Will shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "If we're going all the way to Greece, to Delphi, I was thinking it might be best if I could be with people who've been there before. And people who can fight, considering that's not my strongest suit," he added ruefully.

"A good idea," Chiron commented. "Talk to Nico, find one more to accompany you, and return to me once your team is finalized. Then we can further discuss how to go about the rest of this." Chiron nodded and Will took it as his dismissal, turning on his heel and hurrying out of the house.

The sun was warm on Will's face, a small comfort that made a little bit of the tension in his shoulders ease. He still carried his bow, the weapon slung across his back alongside his quiver. Will slid the bow over his arm, hand settling into place on the leather-wrapped grip. If Will was going to take on the legendary beast that had almost bested his father, he had a lot of practicing to do. Perfect aim was unfortunately _not_ one of his few inherited talents.

He headed down the hill toward the main horseshoe of cabins, the vague intent to talk to some of his siblings lurking in the back of his mind. Eventually, he wanted to talk to Jason and Piper to see if either of them were willing to come along on a fool’s journey, and he also wanted to touch base with Nico--

Right on cue, as if summoned by Will’s thoughts, Will looked up to see all three of them coming up the path from the garage. Piper walked between the two boys, her hand tangled loosely with Jason’s while she spoke animatedly to Nico. Will stopped short to let them catch up to him. “That was quick,” Will said. “Either that or I was in there longer than I thought.”

“It was quick,” Nico shrugged. He glanced at Will curiously but hastily looked away so that no one could accuse him of staring. 

“Hi Will,” Piper smiled and glanced between Will and the house. “Everything okay?” 

“Hi Piper. It’s good to see you again.” Will rubbed the back of his neck, following her gaze back to the house. “Yeah, I think so? At least as okay as it can be, considering the circumstances. I’ve gotta get a team worked out and then talk to Chiron some more. I’m not sure if we’re going to announce this to everyone, or if it’s some kind of thing on the down-low, or…” he trailed off with a shrug.

Jason gave Piper’s hand a small squeeze. “You’re going to want fighters,” he pointed out to Will. “Not that I don’t think you’re capable--“

“I’m better as support,” Will finished for him. “I’m a healer, not a fighter. Nico’s already said he wants to come along. I was thinking… well, I was kinda hoping you’d come too, Jason. Or you, Piper. You guys have already been there, and I don’t want to endanger any of the younger campers if I can help it.” He shifted his feet uncomfortably.

“Sticking with the usual three man team?” Nico asked glancing at Piper and Jason. He didn’t think that either of them would be that comfortable with leaving the other to go back to the Old World.

Piper winced and shook her head with a polite smile. “I think I’m fine with not going back there, ever. I’m not really much of a fighter either.” She gave Jason’s hand a return squeeze and looked up at him. “I think I could spare Jason for at least part of the summer - provided you bring him back in one piece.” 

Nico snorted and shook his head. “If we’re going back there we’ll all be lucky to come back at all, let alone in one piece,” he said as he scuffed the toe of his shoe into the dirt.

“I’ll keep him on his feet,” Will promised. “Not to brag or anything, but I _am_ the best healer we’ve got here at camp, which means I’m the best chance there is for things to turn out all right. Nobody’s ending up in pieces if I have any say in the matter.”

Jason groaned. “Don’t say that, Will; you’ll jinx everything.” He adjusted his grip on Piper’s duffel bag and nodded toward the cabins. “Let’s get Piper settled in, then we can go someplace to keep talking about this. This isn’t exactly the most private location,” he pointed out in an undertone as a couple of younger campers trotted past.

“We can meet you guys in Jason’s cabin in a few?” Piper asked with a smile. She didn’t wait for an answer, she and Jason already heading toward the Aphrodite cabin just as some of her siblings were coming out. One paused and made their way toward the group - or, more correctly, directly toward Nico. 

“Nico! You’re back. Do you want to come to lunch with us?” Lex called. 

Jason took a single long stride, placing himself in the middle of Lex’s path and forcing the kid to come to a complete halt. “Hey, Lex! I was hoping I’d run into you. I wanted to introduce you to your big sister.”

“See you guys later,” Will said quickly, sidestepping the trio and continuing along the path that would eventually lead around to cabin seven. He glanced over his shoulder at Nico. “Coming?”

Nico jumped. “Yeah,” he said and fell easily into step with Will. “So Chiron gave you the go on what Apollo said?” He stared at the ground as they walked, unable to look at Will without his face flushing.

“Sort of,” Will said. “He said he wanted me to come talk to him about it once I had my team together.” He ran a hand through his already tousled hair and glanced over at Nico. “You’re still coming with me, aren’t you? Haven’t changed your mind?”

“I’m still going with you,” Nico said firmly. He looked Will in the eyes and blushed immediately. “I just… I just wish that we weren’t getting tossed into danger right after… right after we…” He shrugged, looking down at his feet.

Will laughed. “I just consider it the grand tradition of Camp Half-Blood,” he said with a rueful grin. “Jason and Piper had the same sort of thing. Percy got kidnapped right after he and Annabeth got together.” He suddenly winced, sobering quickly. “And then there’s what happened to Silena and Beckendorf. So you know, it seems like it’s a pretty typical path that if you’re a demigod and you’re in love with someone, you’re probably gonna get thrown through one heck of a wringer right off the bat.”

“I don’t think I’m worth it, Will,” Nico said bluntly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Good things don’t usually come along with me, people I care about end up… badly,” he said, swallowing thickly. “I just… with this I just don’t know if it’s safe to be with me. Not when we’re already going to be walking into the serpent’s mouth so to speak.”

“Possibly literally,” Will agreed. “But Nico, there’s really nobody I’d rather have with me for this. I know I can trust you.” He stopped, reaching for Nico’s hand but instead grabbing his wrist at the last moment. “Come with me for a second. I just gotta put this away.” Before Nico could protest, Will dragged him up the steps and into the empty cabin seven.

The interior of the cabin was significantly less flashy than its bright, golden exterior. Everything was illuminated by cleverly designed windows that let in as much light as possible, regardless of where the sun was in the sky. Things were relatively neat, but only just enough to pass inspection: Musical instruments were sitting on or next to most of the beds, piles of books and paper stacked haphazardly on shelves. Will tossed his bow onto his bed, following it a moment later with the quiver before turning to Nico.

Nico had always had difficulty thinking about how Will could possibly live in his cabin with all his siblings, but there were times he envied him the closeness with others. Not that that stopped Nico from trying to push people away, as he was now. He stood just inside the doorway, his arms crossed. “Look Will, I… I’m glad that you trust me that much but I am seriously bad news. If I wasn’t one of the only campers here that had gone to the old world I’d be trying to convince you to take someone else. Even Piper might be a better choice than me.” 

“And _anyone_ would be a better choice than me, truth be told,” Will replied. “I’m not a fighter. Putting me out on the front lines is asking for disaster - you being there is not going to make anything worse than it already will be. It’ll make it better, actually.” He walked back to Nico and reached for him again, this time letting their fingers twine. “If you don’t want to go, Nico, I won’t force you. But there really is nobody I’d rather have at my side.”

The blush once again crept up into Nico’s cheeks. He didn’t pull away, but stared at the floor and squeezed Will’s hand slightly. It was a long moment before he said anything. “And I will be, if only because I don’t trust anyone else to protect you.” 

“What, you don’t think Jason could do it?” Will asked. His mouth quirked in a grin and he gave Nico’s hand a return squeeze. There was a brief moment of awkward silence, broken when Will cleared his throat and let go. “Speaking of Jason, we should get to cabin one.” 

“Yeah, we should,” Nico agreed. But no: he wouldn’t have trusted even Jason. Nico had learned that one the hard way. He and Will stepped out of the cabin to head towards Jason’s.

On the way, they were passed by a few other campers making their way towards the mess for lunch. Nico’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food, but there were other things to do first. When they reached cabin one, Nico knocked on the door frame to warn Jason and Piper that they weren’t alone. 

“Nico, Will - come on in,” Jason said, waving at them. He retreated back into the alcove where his bed was hidden as soon as the two of them stepped over the threshold.

Cabin one had always been unnerving to Will. A massive statue of Zeus stood in the center of the cabin, its stern glare seeming to follow them as Will and Nico skirted around to where Jason’s bed was tucked away. It was the only place in the cabin that avoided the statue’s glowering. Unlike the rest of the cold, columned cabin, Jason’s alcove looked lived in. There was a camp bed set up and photographs taped to the stone wall. Jason sat on the edge of the bed next to Piper, their hands clasped together on Piper’s knee.

Will sat cross-legged on the floor, throwing a glance back at the statue of Zeus. “Are you sure we should be doing this here?” he asked anxiously.

“You get used to it,” Jason said with a shrug. “I’m still looking for a way to move it, but I’m not sure how to do that without getting struck down on the spot.”

Nico leaned against the alcove wall and shrugged. “We could have gotten together at my cabin, but we’re all here already.” 

“I’m sure this will be all right,” Piper said, giving Jason’s hand a squeeze. “So what’s going on?” she asked Will. “Your father showed up and he wants you to go to Greece?” 

“Yeah,” Will said. With Nico’s help, Will explained their conversation with Apollo. Both of them avoided mentioning exactly what they’d been doing in the forest in the first place, and thankfully neither Jason nor Piper asked. “So in order to allow the Oracle’s power to function again, my dad wants me to take out Python. The only way to even attempt to do that is to go to Mount Parnassus in Greece.”

Jason pushed his glasses up on his nose, quiet for a moment as he processed everything. “And Apollo didn’t mention what would happen if you didn’t do it by the solstice?”

Will and Nico shared a glance before Will replied. “He didn’t have time. Is it ever anything not terrible, though?”

Nico looked at the ground to hide his obvious embarrassment. “It was probably that the snake will take over the world, or we’ll lose the power of prophecy forever - that sort of thing.” 

Piper looked between Will and Nico, trying to determine what was going on between them. Things were different from the last time she’d seen them. “I feel like the gods would be more… involved in what was going on if the consequences were something like losing the power of prophecy forever. Don’t they need prophecy to send us to help them?”

“Didn’t seem to stop Apollo,” Nico mumbled.

“There isn’t really much to go on,” Piper continued. “Do the three of you do you have any idea where to start?” 

“Greece obviously, but I don’t know if we can fly straight to where we need to go, and it’s not like we have a flying ship to…” Nico trailed off. Even after all this time it was difficult to talk about Leo and Festus. 

“We could fly to Athens,” Will said doubtfully. “But from there I’m not sure. Maybe we could take a train or a taxi or something?”

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to take commercial air to Athens,” Jason said, carefully avoiding the subject of Leo. “None of us have Percy Jackson’s stipulations on flying. I bet Chiron is working out the details for getting us there as we speak.”

“He could be,” Will agreed. “But when it comes to flying, even without Percy’s limitations, what are we going to do about passports? I’ve got one, but I’m pretty sure you two don’t.”

“Well, when has anything regarding a quest been easy?” Piper leaned a little closer to Jason. “If that’s the worst thing about getting ready to go…”

“They can start out seeming like they’re going to be easy, but like any plan, as soon as battle is joined it has to be scrapped and re-made.” Jason’s face was grim, but he put his arm around Piper as a gentle reassurance. “Why don’t we all hit the dining pavilion for lunch and then we can go with Will to talk to Chiron?”

“Sounds good to me,” Will agreed, getting to his feet. “Glad to have you guys at my back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got delayed by many difficult things both physical and emotional. Thank you for sticking with us!


End file.
